Fans had already redefined how Squish fit into their lives. Across social platforms, consumers were using their Squishmallows plush toys as sleeping pillows, often denting them from nightly use and revealing an unmet need. This sparked the creation of an entirely new product, SquishPillow, born directly from how fans were already living with the brand.
Jazwares entered a pillow category dominated by functional sameness, where brands competed on interchangeable claims like support and sleep science. The opportunity was ripe to disrupt the category by doing what Squish does best: deliver comfort that feels emotional, expressive, and personal. The ambition was to extend Squish from a beloved plush into a lifestyle essential and make SquishPillow the pillow consumers asked for by name.
Success would be measured by both cultural relevance, as well as speed to sell-through and early retail performance. Jazwares aimed to drive immediate demand through a Target pre-order, drive early sell-out, and exceed an already ambitious sales forecast by generating outsized engagement during the Back-to-School window.
We built the launch on a cultural insight rather than a product claim. While others focused on sleep science and ergonomic performance, we focused on the emotional value of comfort. Gen Z had already made rest a form of self-expression, from cozy room aesthetics to the rise of “bedrotting.” We saw a chance to make rest aspirational and to reframe a routine purchase into a cultural statement, positioning SquishPillow not as a product you buy but as a feeling you live in.
We developed two distinct but aligned creative workstreams. Our studio led the paid media campaign under the “For Your Sleepy Head” platform, while our influencer team produced independent creator content for GlowHouse and #SquishTok, ensuringa unified creative platform with differentiated executions.
Every element was designed to feel authentic to the Squishmallows universe but evolved for a multigenerational audience. The studio campaign featured scripted, cinematic short films designed for paid distribution, giving the brand a dreamy visual identity that extended across all paid channels. The launch plan, which blended creative, influencer, and media into one seamless system, would unfold in two movements.
First, we built hype through a partnership with GlowHouse, a rising creator collective that embodies friendship, empowerment, and fun. Then we extended momentum through a creative campaign “for your sleepy heads” and #SquishTok, a creator-driven wave that followed college students as they shopped, decorated dorms, and prepared for the school year. Our entire strategy was rooted in cultural relevance, backed by intelligent media investment.
PMG defined the paid creative to ensure a consistent brand expression. We filmed using vintage Lomography Petzvalux lenses to create a hazy, dreamlike look. The result was a campaign that lived between sleep and waking, a little surreal, a little silly, and completely distinctive. These assets formed the core of the paid creative campaign, appearing across social and DOOH near key retail partners.
With real-time performance data, Alli Creative Engine allowed us to test and refine creative with precision. For example, when two lower-performing assets shared the same color scheme, we developed new versions using the top-performing palette identified in Alli. The results confirmed that the concept, not the color, drove performance.
For consumers, the experience was designed to feel like entering a cozy, Squish-filled dream. TikTok feeds were filled with glowing bedroom scenes, pastel lighting, and creators wrapped in SquishPillows during lazy mornings and late-night wind-downs. The paid creative set the aesthetic foundation for the campaign, and the influencer content carried that same emotional tone through creator-led storytelling. The work mirrored a real generational shift — rest as a ritual, not a luxury — and gave audiences a way to see themselves in the brand.
In parallel, our influencer team developed creator programs that were strategically aligned to the overarching platform. We transformed GlowHouse into the ultimate sleepover experience. Fifteen creators, with a combined reach of 60 million followers, filled the space with Squishmallows and SquishPillows, creating moments that spread across social media. We identified GlowHouse as a cultural flashpoint and secured premier placement for SquishPillow, putting the product directly into a moment millions of fans were already following.
Next came #SquishTok. Eight creators captured the back-to-college journey over several months, with storytelling posts developed against a multi-phase content strategy that wove in SquishPillow throughout, from early preparation and shopping, to move-in day and life on campus. The influencer-led effort, distinct but holistically connected to the “For Your Sleepy Heads” shoot, expanded through strategic amplification and turned cultural buzz into omnichannel visibility.
The launch exceeded expectations across both cultural impact and commercial performance. The campaign generated 213 million impressions, 867,000 engagements, and 263,000 link clicks, delivering the scale and engagement targets set for the Back-to-School window. Demand translated immediately into sales. The 2,500-unit Target pre-order sold out within days, and SquishPillow sold through at three times the initial launch forecast, driving an early retail sell-out.
Momentum continued beyond launch. The TikTok handle @squishpillowofficial grew from zero to thousands of followers within weeks, signaling sustained consumer interest and ongoing cultural relevance. By uniting creative storytelling, influencer activation, and precision media, PMG helped Jazwares successfully expand perceptions of what a pillow product could represent, creating an emotional connection rooted in comfort, self-expression, and style. The result was that the brand turned a product launch into a cultural event, demonstrating how lifestyle extensions can convert fandom into measurable business impact.
“This campaign demonstrated what happens when brand insight, creative discipline, and execution align. We met our audience in moments that mattered to them and translated that connection into momentum for the business.” - Laura Christy, Senior Director, Global Brand Marketing, Jazwares
